Napoli boss Spalletti says Osimhen will be on the bench against Legia Warsaw

Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti has revealed that Victor Osimhen will start on the bench when they host Legia Warsaw for their Europa League fixture on Thursday.

The Serie A leaders are seeking their first win in Group C having drawn one and lost the other in their opening two games.

Osimhen has scored eight goals in his last seven games for the club but Spalletti disclosed that he has options to lead his attack against the Group C leaders at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

“[On Thursday] I won’t let him play from the start, but the boy has athletic qualities that allow him to regenerate immediately,” Spalletti told the club’s website.

“Those who will go on the pitch are competitive to play a match of strength and quality. We want to dedicate a good evening to our fans. We also wanted to do it with Spartak, we will try to do it [on Thursday] with all our commitment.”

Spalletti believes Napoli can still make it past the group stage, even though they sit at the bottom of their group with a point after two matches.

“We are confident because we have a deep squad that allows us to be able to stay in the Europa League for a long time,” the Italian added.

“Tomorrow I will field quality players who will give their all. We want to win this match and we have the men to do it. I have a squad equipped to play on the pitch on all fronts.

Napoli played a 2–2 draw with Leicester in their opening Europa League game before losing 3–2 to Spartak Moscow.